


The Four Acts

by harmonicNoiz



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Courting Rituals, Dating, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, Spark Sexual Interfacing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-03-29 15:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19022725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harmonicNoiz/pseuds/harmonicNoiz
Summary: Cyclonus courts Tailgate the right way





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! This is my first transformers fic so if terminology is rough just stick with me. The four acts are based off of what Getaway described to Tailgate while being a manipulative asshole so idk if they’re accurate.  
> Also I’m gonna update the tags as I go.  
> Have fun!

Chapter One

“Are you drunk?”

“What? What, no. Why would I be drunk?” Tailgate sat in Swerve’s bar, a few small glasses sitting in front of him. The bartender starred at the mini as he leaned over the bar to reach for another glass. He smacked his hand away. 

Tailgate had sat in the empty bar as Swerve cleaned up after a long day and took inventory. Swerve hadn’t been serving him, or even paying attention to him as he prattled on about the days events. Tailgate took advantage of the bartender’s distracted rambling, running around the bar to search for the high grade that Swerve never served him in fear he’d get too overcharged. He mixed a drink quickly, some strong engex with a fruity syrup and a crazy straw, and moved back to his stool in front of the bar. He quickly drank the mixture, feeling a touch dizzy from consuming it so quickly. He grabbed more drinks over the counter while Swerve was across the bar. 

Swerve was heavily confused by the disoriented mech in front of him. Tailgate had never made a move for the engex before, accepting that he wasn’t allowed to have it and leaving it at that. Yet her he was, overcharged off his aft. 

“I’m gonna comm Cyclonus to take you home. Get ready to go,” Swerve said, exasperated. He spent his entire day dealing with overcharged mechs and he trusted that after hours he wouldn’t have to put up with them anymore. Apparently he was wrong. 

“Swerve noo! Don’t comm him, he’ll be mad at meee,” Tailgate slurred his words.

“I’m not taking you home,” Swerve said, keeping a careful arm on Tailgate’s leg so he wouldn’t fall off the barstool as he wiggled. “So I’m going to comm Cyclonus and you’re going to deal with it.”

Coolant welled around Tailgate’s visor and Swerve stared at him, bewildered. “Please don’t tell Cyclonuss… He’ll just be more mad at me. I don’t want to mess up again,” Tailgate begged, spacing out his words as he struggled to think clearly. Swerve tugged him down from the stool and helped him steady himself on the ground.

“Okay, buddy, I won’t tell him, but you have to talk to me about this.” Swerve guided his friend behind the bar and out of view of the open door, offering him a seat on the clean floor. “Can’t have my best friend drunk crying all over the place. So talk, what’s up? Cy being grumpier than normal?”

“He’s not being grumpy, just ignoring me entirely,” Tailgate invented deeply, trying to level his breathing before speaking again. “I thought things were going really good and then he just started avoiding me and our hab. He won’t even look at me anymore, and he always comes back to the hab while I’m recharging so he doesn’t have to deal with me.” 

Swerve took in the information, trying to sort it through Tailgate’s frantic words and soft hiccups. “I’m sure he’s not mad at you, Tailgate. He’s probably just avoiding everyone, you know he does that. And maybe Rodimus is giving him late shifts, that’s why he comes home late. He’s not mad at you bud, he just does this.”

“But he never does this to me! He avoids everyone else but he always talks to me. And we were supposed to have a singing lesson a few cycles ago but he just didn’t come home for it! I haven’t seen him since our last lesson…” Tailgate rambled, frantically trying to make sense of why his roommate would stop talking to him so suddenly after a lesson.

“Did something happen at the lesson? Like, was he acting weird at all, or grumpier than his normal grump level?” That phrasing got a small chuckle out of Tailgate, and Swerve smiled, having achieved his goal of slightly cheering up his friend. Tailgate’s smile went away quickly, and Swerve’s followed.

“That’s the thing! The lesson was perfect. He taught me a new song and I got it really fast and he told me I was doing good. He seemed really proud of me, and he even smiled a little, but then the next day he was avoiding me. I don’t know what I did wrong, and I don’t want to be mad at him ‘cuz I know that’ll make things worse but I am! He’s being an aft,” Tailgate shouted, coolant flooding his eyes yet again as he got worked up with anger instead of lonliness.

Swerve placed a gentle hand on Tailgate’s tire to try to calm him. He stilled, however, at the sound of heavy footsteps making their way into the bar. Tailgate quieted his invents and hiccupped one last time before going completely quiet as he wiped coolant from his visor. Swerve poked his head up from behind the bar to look at their intruder. 

“Hey, sorry, we’re closed right now. I think “Visages” is open if you want overpriced slag-” Swerve cut himself off when he saw two deep red optics staring at him through the dim lighting of the bar. He stood up straighter. “Heyyy Cyclonus! Whatcha need buddy?”

“Has Tailgate been here today,” He asked, straight to the point. Swerve glanced back behind the bar to Tailgate, who was frantically shaking his head and waving his hands in a ‘Please don’t tell him’ motion. Swerve ignored it. 

“Yeah, actually. He’s right back here,” Swerve pointed a thumb over his shoulder, to his friend behind the bar. Cyclonus took a step forward to look over the counter, glare softening when he saw the blue mini with his legs curled up to his chassis. 

“We need to have a talk.”


	2. Chapter 2

Cyclonus, for once in his functioning, was nervous. It was a foreign feeling to him, one that confused and disoriented him. He’d been worried before, but that was always about battles; it was a fear he wouldn’t make it out alive, that he would never fly again, or never get to see Tetrahex again. That fear was gone now. 

Yet here he was fretting. He wasn’t going into battle, and there was no threat of offlining. It was a simple confession, one he had thought over for days and rehearsed countless times. He had spoken to Rung about his plans, the old mech supporting his decision and helping him write out a type of script to ease his nerves. He had even mentioned the idea to Whirl, who barked laughter at first but assured him nonetheless that he was making the right decision. So why, after all this preparation, was he still so damn nervous?

His shift was nearing its end, and as the minutes ticked down, his tank slowly began to churn more. He rehearsed his lines in his head on repeat, attempting to change his tone to make him sound less intimidating. When his job was done and he clocked out, he strode down the corridors of the Lost Light with a sense of urgency. He didn’t want to walk leisurely and have time to doubt himself.

He went to his hab suite first, letting out a small sigh of disappointment when he saw that the residing mini wasn’t home. He then made his way to Swerve’s, knowing after a rather lengthy friendship that Tailgate would either be with Swerve or Rewind. 

The bar was dark when he arrived, having closed joors ago, but he thought it worth checking anyways. He saw neither minis when he entered, but after a few ticks a visor poked up from behind the bar. The bartender spoke before really seeing him, but paused when he finally registered the not-decepticon standing in front of him. 

“Heyyy Cyclonus! Whatcha need buddy?” Swerve asked. He seemed disproportionately nervous, considering he had done nothing to wrong the horned mech.

“Has Tailgate been here today?” Swerve glanced behind the bar after registering the question. Cyclonus noticed, and decided that he would have to look back there regardless of the stout mech’s answer. 

Cyclonus’ struts loosened slightly when swerve gave him an affirmation and gestured to the bot hidden behind the counter. He took two long strides forward to glance at the ball of limbs on the floor. 

“We need to have a talk,” Cyclonus said, immediately regretting it when the mini curled tighter before loosening himself and standing up begrudgingly. He kept his optics on the ground as he moved forward, like a mech towards execution. Cyclonus tried to ease his nerves. “You’ve done nothing wrong to fret so much.” 

Tailgate quietly followed Cyclonus to their hab, slowly becoming less nervous as the journey went on, though he stiffened when Cyclonus chose to sit on the smaller berth instead of his own larger one. He patted the slab next to him, and the mini begrudgingly climbed up next to him. He sat with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap, though he was ready to curl up on himself should he so desire. 

Cyclonus’ rehearsals had failed him. As soon as he sat on the berth, his mind went blank and he forgot everything he intended to say, much less the tone with which to say it. Tailgate stared up at him with that bright visor, and Cyclonus felt his spark spin just a little faster.

“I’d like to apologize for missing our last lesson together,” The larger mech started. “My mind has been preoccupied lately, and I feared it would distract me too much.” That wasn’t a good enough excuse and Cyclonus knew it, but that’s all he could really say. 

Tailgate could see through this bad distraction, trying to push Cyclonus to his point. “It’s fine, it’s whatever. But you sort of missed everything, not just the lesson. You haven’t been around for the night cycles, and you haven’t been to the bar. Are you okay? Did I do something wrong,” Tailgate asked, his anxieties showing in his voice now. 

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” Cyclonus said, and that small statement eased Tailgates worries signficantly. Cyclonuss was always blunt, and if he said that Tailgate didn’t upset him, that was the end of it. “I’ve had a lot of thinking to do.” 

The violet mech turned to better face the bright blue visor staring at him expectantly. He took a large invent, steeling himself, before making his confession. 

“I wish to court you.”

Tailgate stared at him for a long moment. He had heard the phrase around the ship many times, Swerve talked about courting a lot as well as other bots, but he had never actually asked what it meant. He knew that Drift was courting Ratchet, but despite seeing them together a lot, they behaved the same as everyone else, so he had never been able to tell what was different about them. Tailgate had just figured that courting was a weird label for friends. Needless to say, Cyclonus could see his confusion.

“You’ve heard of the four acts, correct?” The mini shook his head. “The acts are a traditional courting ritual.They’re meant to help get to know a mech deeply and show dedication before the two bond.” Tailgate attempted to follow his explaination but it didn’t answer any of his questions. He thought for a moment, before settling on one specific question.

“Bond?” The white bot asked, shrinking in on himself slightly as Cyconus stared back at him for a few kliks too long. 

“Sparkbond,” Cyclonus clarified, but paused to think a moment. “Tailgate, you don’t know what courting is, do you?” 

The mini shook his head minutely, his visor dimming slightly in embarrassment. “I’ve heard people talk about it but no one hsa told me what it is… I just act like I know what’s going on,” he admitted quietly.

“Courting is done before two mechs become Conjunx Endura,” he said simply, and Tailgate made a small ‘oh’ noise. He stared for a moment. And then his visor widened as he fully understood the implications of Cyclonus’ earlier statement. 

“This requires very little reciprocation from you,” Cyclonus explained before the smaller bot could ask. “As you are the one being courted. I will perform the acts towards you and all you have to do is accept my affections if you find them suitable.”

Tailgate nodded, and his still anxious EM field began to fill with joy and excitement. Despite his clear eagerness, Cyclonus still hadn’t gotten a clear answer. “So do you accept my proposal,” He asked, and held his invents for just a moment.

“Yeah, yes! Of course!” Cyclonus allowed a soft smile to slip past his guard, and Tailgate’s visor brightened to nearly white at the sight of it. “So what’s the first act?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not beta-ed so sorry if it’s not great.   
> Comments and feedback are appreciated!  
> tumblr, twitter, insta: harmonicnoiz

**Author's Note:**

> Don’t worry guys, it’s a good talk >;3  
> Comments and Kudos are very much appreciated, and if you have any general feedback hmu  
> Tumblr, Twitter, and Insta: harmonicnoiz


End file.
